For Parents/Math/What Is Place Value?

What Is Place Value?

2 min read1st–3rd
Place Value

Place value is the idea that the value of a digit depends on its position in a number.

In the number 352:

  • The 3 is in the hundreds place → it means 300
  • The 5 is in the tens place → it means 50
  • The 2 is in the ones place → it means 2

352 = 300 + 50 + 2. Same digits in different positions make completely different numbers: 352, 325, 253, 235, 532, 523 are all different.

The place value chart

...ThousandsHundredsTensOnes.TenthsHundredths
1,0001001010.10.01

Each place is 10 times the place to its right. This is why our system is called base-10.

Why place value matters

Place value is the foundation of:

  • Regrouping (carrying and borrowing): trading 10 ones for 1 ten
  • Decimals: extending place value to the right of the decimal point
  • Rounding: identifying which place to round to
  • Expanded form: writing 352 as 300 + 50 + 2
  • Multiplication: understanding why you "add a zero" when multiplying by 10

Related concepts

Learning path

After this

How to Teach Place Value So It Actually Sticks

1st–3rd

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